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Model of the Clipper Ship Governor Robie

Description

Governor Robie was a clipper ship built in Bath, Maine by William Rogers and launched in 1883. It measured 228 feet 8 inches in length, 41 feet in beam, 23 feet 6 inches in depth of hold, and 1,627 tons. It was named after Frederick Robie, governor of Massachusetts from 1883 to 1887. It was built for Captain Daniel S. Goodell, Sr. of Searsport, Maine and was to be commanded by his son Captain William H. Goodell. The ship was managed by Pendleton, Carver, and Nichols of New York.

Governor Robie was among the last of the sailing ships in the China trade. It made a record passage from New York to Hong Kong in 110 days. Around 1900 it was sold to the California Shipping Company for use in the lumber trade, when steam was replacing sail. It was sold again in 1910 to the Neptune Line and converted into a coal barge for use on the Atlantic coast. On November 26, 1921 it foundered with all hands off Highland Light, New Jersey.

The model is of a three-masted, square-rigged merchant sailing ship with rigging, but without sails. The hull is painted black with a coppered bottom and a gold stripe. Made around 1920 by Frederick Williamson of Sailor’s Snug Harbor, Staten Island, New York, this model was donated to the Smithsonian by the CIGNA Corporation in 2005.

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